In 1751, the regiment became the 20th Regiment of Foot, often written in Roman numerals 'XX Foot', (hence the nickname The Two Tens). During the Seven Years' War the regiment earned honour at the Battle of Minden on 1 August 1759, when, as an infantry formation, they stood up to and broke a Frenchcavalry charge.[5] During the American Revolutionary War the regiment was sent to Quebec in April 1776 and assisted in the relief of Quebec in May 1776. Serving under General John Burgoyne for the remainder of the Canadian campaign, they later surrendered along with General Burgoyne at Saratoga.[6]

The 20th Regiment of Foot was designated the 20th (East Devonshire) Regiment of Foot in 1782. The 2nd Battalion was raised in 1858.[7] During the Napoleonic Wars the 20th Foot fought in several early campaigns before serving with distinction in the Peninsular War, their performance was particularly noted at the Battle of Vitoria where they formed part of the "backbone" of the Duke of Wellington's forces.[8] During the Crimean War, in 1854, the regiment took part in the two major battles of Alma and Inkerman.[9]

In common with other regiments recruited from populous urban areas, the Lancashire Fusiliers raised two further regular battalions, the 3rd in 1898, and the 4th in 1900. This necessitated adjustments to the numbers of the Militia battalions, which became the 5th and 6th battalions. However, the 3rd and 4th Regular battalions were disbanded in 1906.[7] In 1898 the 2nd Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers took part in Kitchener's campaign to reconquer the Sudan and fought at the Battle of Omdurman.[13]

During the Second Boer War, the 2nd Battalion saw action at the Battle of Spion Kop in January 1900 and the Relief of Ladysmith in February 1900.[14] The 6th (Militia) Battalion also served in the war, leaving for South Africa with 650 men on 10 February 1900.[15] All three Volunteer Battalions also found 'service companies' of volunteers who served alongside the Regulars, and gained the battle honour South Afrca 1900–1902 for their battalions.[16]

Under the Haldane Reforms of 1908, the Militia were redesignated Special Reserve, with the dual wartime role of Home Defence and providing drafts for the Regular Battalions. The Lancashire Fusiliers' militia became 3rd (Reserve) Battalion and 4th (Extra Reserve) Battalion, both based at Bury. The volunteers now became the Territorial Force (TF), with battalions numbered in sequence after the militia. Thus the 1st Volunteer Battalion at Bury became 5th Battalion, 2nd Volunteer Battalion at Rochdale became the 6th Battalion, and the 3rd Volunteer Battalion formed the 7th and 8th battalions both based in Salford.[11][17] These four battalions formed the Lancashire Fusiliers Brigade, in the East Lancashire Division of the TF, on the eve of the First World War.[18]

Soon after the outbreak of war, the formation of Reserve or 2nd Line units for each existing TF unit was authorised. These units took the 'prefix '2/' while the parent battalions took '1/'. Eventually both 1st and 2nd Line battalions went overseas and 3rd Line battalions were raised to supply recruits.[20][21]

The 9th (Service) Battalion waded ashore in deep water and darkness at Suvla Bay[27] on the night of 6/7 August 1915, as part of 34th Brigade of 11th (Northern) Division, and were pinned down on the beach losing their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel H. M. Welstead, and a number of officers.[23][24][28] Evacuated from Gallipoli in December 1915, it moved to Egypt and then transferred to France in July 1916 for service on the Western Front.[19][23]

The 12th (Service) Battalion landed at Boulogne as part of the 65th Brigade in the 22nd Division in September 1915 but moved with the Division to Salonika, arriving in November 1915 before moving to France for service on the Western Front in July 1918.[19][23] The 15th (Service) Battalion (1st Salford) and 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd Salford) landed at Boulogne as part of the 96th Brigade in the 32nd Division in November 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[19][23] The 17th (Service) Battalion (1st South East Lancashire) and 18th (Service) Battalion (2nd South East Lancashire) landed at Le Havre as part of the 104th Brigade in the 35th Division in January 1916 also for service on the Western Front.[19][23] The 19th (Service) Battalion (3rd Salford) (Pioneers) landed at Le Havre as part of the 96th Brigade in the 32nd Division in November 1915 also for service on the Western Front.[19][23] The 20th (Service) Battalion (4th Salford) landed at Le Havre as part of the 104th Brigade in the 35th Division in January 1916 also for service on the Western Front.[19][23]

A war memorial to the regiment, commissioned in honour of its First World War casualties, was erected outside Wellington Barracks in Bury, opposite the regimental headquarters. With the demolition of the barracks, the memorial was relocated to Gallipoli Garden in the town. It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, famous for the Cenotaph in London, whose father and great uncle served in the Lancashire Fusiliers. After the amalgamation into the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, the memorial was re-dedicated to all fusiliers killed in service.[30]

The 1/6th Battalion served alongside the 1/5th Battalion in France in April–June 1940 and were driven back to Dunkirk. In 1941 this 1st-Line TA Battalion was converted, like the 1/5th Battalion, to armour as 109th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps. Units converted in this way continued to wear their infantry cap badge on the black beret of the Royal Armoured Corps.[34]

The 2/5th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers was formed in 1939 as a duplicate of the 1/5th, was part of the 197th Infantry Brigade, once again the 2nd-Line duplicate of the 1st-Line 125th Infantry Brigade.[43] It served with the 66th Infantry Division until 23 June 1940 when the division disbanded. The brigade then transferred to the 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division. They landed in Normandy as part of Operation Overlord on 29 June 1944 and first saw action in early July at Malon on the North West outskirts of Caen as part of Operation Charnwood, where they suffered 121 casualties. They also took part in Operation Pomegranate and the battles on the Orne River. Of all the companies in this battalion, B Company stood out for the highest number of officers killed (in just two months B Company lost three Commanding Officers, and ALL Officers on a company attack just outside Vendes). On 21 August 1944, the divisional commander, Major-GeneralLewis Lyne, late of the regiment, visited the battalion and informed them that the 59th Division was to be disbanded, due to a severe shortage of infantryman at the time, in order to provide replacements for infantry units, and most had been battered during the recent heavy fighting. As a result, on 26 August, the battalion was officially disbanded and the companies were dispatched to different British battalions and divisions in the 21st Army Group. A Company was sent to 7th Royal Welch Fusiliers (53rd (Welsh) Division), B Company to 2nd Gordon Highlanders (15th (Scottish) Division), C Company to 2nd Glasgow Highlanders (15th (Scottish) Division) and D Company to 1st East Lancashire Regiment (53rd (Welsh) Division).[44] The 59th Division was considered by Bernard Montgomery to be one of the best and most reliable divisions in his 21st Army Group and was only chosen for disbandment because it was the youngest British division in France. The Battalion War Diary claimed it to be "A sad day. 5 years of training for 8 weeks fighting, and unfortunately the break up of the battalion leaves the Regiment without representative in this Theatre of War".[45]

The 11th (Service) Battalion was a hostilities-only battalion raised in 1940, originally as the 50th (Holding) Battalion, whose role was to temporarily 'hold' men who were medically unfit, awaiting orders, on courses or returning from abroad.[7] In October 1940 the battalion was redesignated the 11th Battalion. The 11th Battalion served in the garrison of Malta during the Siege with the 233rd Infantry Brigade.[52] In July 1944 it was to be disbanded but instead it transferred to the 66th Infantry Brigade, serving alongside the 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots, a Regular unit, and 1st Battalion, Hertfordshire Regiment, a Territorial. The brigade became part of 1st Infantry Division which was serving in the Italian Campaign, where it took part in the fighting on the Gothic Line, suffering severe casualties. Early in 1945 the 11th Battalion was transferred to Palestine with the rest of the 1st Infantry Division and remained there for the rest of the war.[53]

AA Command was disbanded in 1955, and a number of disbandments and mergers took place among TA air defence units: 633 LAA Regiment was disbanded,[57][58] while four HAA regiments in the Manchester area, including 574 and 310, formed a new 314 HAA Regiment. By this merger the 7th and 8th Bns Lancashire Fusiliers, both descended from the 56th Lancashire RVC, were brought back together. They formed Q (Salford) Battery in the new regiment.[60][62]

Becke, Major A.F. (1935) History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2a: the Territorial Force Mounted Divisions and the 1st-Line Territoral Force Divisions (42–56), London: HM Stationery Office, 1935/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, ISBN 1-84734-739-8.

Becke, Maj A.F. (1937) History of the Great War: Order of Battle of Divisions, Part 2b: The 2nd-Line Territorial Force Divisions (57th–69th), with the Home-Service Divisions (71st–73rd) and 74th and 75th Divisions, London: HM Stationery Office, 1937/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2007, ISBN 1-847347-39-8.

Farndale, Gen Sir Martin (1988) History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery: The Years of Defeat: Europe and North Africa, 1939–1941, Woolwich: Royal Artillery Institution, 1988/London: Brasseys, 1996, ISBN 1-85753-080-2.